The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-02
RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION.
Some Points About the Long and Short
Haul Clause

/ Some Points About the Long and Short
Haul Clause.
Editor Morning Ne,rs- The subject Of
railway transportation IS engaging the seri-
ous thought Of the American people on a
larger scale az the present time than ever BE-
fore in our history It Is one of the prob
lens which q wise and conservative states
I rnallshiD can solve OF which the unwise and
I ambitious can U.s. 10 the incalculable hurt
I Of the country. . SO lar as a
( United States Commission, established
I for the purpose Of correcting the evils OF
I interstate commerce il concerned. there
I ought unqUestiOnably 10 BE- one. Barring SEC
/ ton four Congress has, perhaps, made a
I very good beginning in passing the present
I Law. President Cleveland however, has
/ done far better in appointing the Commits
/ sioners than the Congress did in enacting
I the Law. The Commissioners are greater
! than their Office
! .--Section four. 50 much talked Of, provides
( That il shall be unlawful for any common
! carrier subject to the provisions Of this act
| 70 charge or receive any greater compensa-
1 ton IN the aggregate for the transportation
/ OF passengers, or Of like kind Of property.
/ italics are minel under substantially SINH
4 lar circumstances or conditions. for shorter
| than for longer distance over the same
| line in the same direction. the shorter being
/ Nov, without pretending 10 any gift of
| prophecy. and without even laying claim to
being a mind reader, / do not hesitate TO
4 assert that that section of the act will never
Be enforced When the present suspension
terminates it will be still further suspend
| ed, and without ever being carried into effect
| VIII in the end be abrogared or repealed. or
else fall into ''innocuous desuetude.r And
| the reason is as plain as though it were
| written upon the heavens in characters OF
fire. This section undertakes to make dis
| lance the basis Of rates Except in the mar
| rowest possible limits this is utterly imprac-
| ticable; nay more, it is utterly impossible.
| Railroads have but two classes of business
/ absolute and competitive The absolute
business OF a railroad is that which origi-
mates along It's line, and III fixing rates on
| this business distance, whether the freight
| Is shipped to some point on or beyond the
| initial road, enters into the question OF
rates and in perceplble measure de
| termines the rate All Otheg. business is
| competitive. For this railroads wage
against each other ceaseless warfare.
The traffic manager is an Office made alb
solutely necessary by this warfare, and to
fill this important station railroads employ
the brightest, quickest and best brain that
money can secure. Every pound of freight
road can get from territory beyond that
which Is absolutely its own Is 50 much gain
and it is inst 80 much the better for It's local
customers. If this is not true why does the
| Western and Atlantic TailreRfN for
instance, or the Georgia! y charge
lower locals than the Brunswick and West
ern: Their through or competitive business
is so large, that these roads can well afford
to divide the benefits with the local shippers
| by giving them lower rates But hItl .di-
crossing a little. have said that SECTION
four will never be enforced because it
undertakes TO make distance the basis OF
rates. Our own Railroad Commission
turned this question loose with
commendable and precipitate haste
and left it in less than sixty DAYS after its
rates went into effect, just where Judge
Cooley and his associates viii have to leave
it, When our Georgia commission put its
rates into effect March |, 1850, the charging
more for shorter than longer haul would
have subjected the road making such charge
TO all the penalties named in our lava fine
Of not exceeding $1,000 for each violation
of the statute. Theoretically. this
was just and fair, but the difference
between theoretical craftsmanship and
practical craftsmanship was soon discov-
cred to be very great. As soon at the COM
missioner's rates went into effect, these
being maximum rates, if a railroad reduced
a rate from one point it was obliged, in Or
der 10 to avoid the penalties of the law, to
make corresponding reduction on the
same class of freight from every other point.
Nov as TO the absolute business of road as
above explained this rule is eminently lust
and reasonable But let us see how
this rule worked i'll practice as to competi-
tive business.
The South Carolina railroad runs from
Augusta to Charleston, and the Central
from Augusta TO Savannah. Now, the
Carolina road, appreciating the. handicap of
the Central put its rates from Augusta to
Charleston far enough below the rates al
lowed the Central by the commission from
Augusta to Savannah 10 practically com
pei all cotton to 90 to Charleston To meet
this the Central realized that whatever re-
duction she made from Augusta would
have to apply to her entire business. This
would, OF course, have been luminous. and
without relief from the commission she was
obliged 10 surrender her Augusta business
TO tue Carolina road. This crippled the
Central, it hurt Savannah and benefited the
Carolina road and the city of Charleston.
When these things were made to appear to
our Commissioners they very wisely, on
April 49,. 1880, passed order No. g. The sub
stance of that order was this, that whenever
a railroad lying wholly within the jurisdic-
ton of the Georgia commission came in
competition with any road without the jul
risdiction of our commission, the first road
could make rates 10 meet this competition
without making corresponding reduction
over its whole. | have not this order No 6
before nae, but / have stated it fairly
and substantially. This order put mat
tiers Just where they stood before our
commission was created. The Central could
and can now under that order charge less
for cotton from Augusta to Savannah, l32
miles, than il charges from Millen an inter
mediate station, 20 Savannah, 20 miles.
Here within the State our Commissioners
have legalized the charging of more for q
shorter than a longer distance, the longer
| including the shorter This was not done
conspicuously, but simply in recognition OF
the fact that competition is the greatest rail
road commission on earth-one whose power
rests in the unwritten but memorable laws
! OF commerce. Statutes may be hurled at
! these laws, but they are too subtle and
varied to be grasped and controlled by en-
actlnents issuing from the unframed legis-
lative mind knowledge, full and accurate
is essential 90 the administration of justice,
and this is the greatest concern of govern
ment The wiscst provision of
our interstate commerce law is the
| authority given the Commissioners to sus-
/ pend section four.
The government itself is n common car
Tier, doing as such business running high
| up in the millions. 1t transports letters.
! papers, dry goods, shrubbery, groceries and
an infinite variety OF articles through the
,tftti